Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister of Maharashtra Thursday evening, ending days of uncertainty. Alliance partner and former CM Eknath Shinde, who had kept everyone guessing till the last moment, agreed to become a deputy CM alongside Ajit Pawar.

The three leaders were administered the oath of office by governor C. P. Radhakrishnan at a gala event at Azad Maidan here. Prime minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and the chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states were also present. In the audience were leading celebrities of the metro including Mukesh Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar and Salman Khan.

This is the third innings in the top chair for Fadnavis, who first became CM in 2014. In 2019, he was sworn in as CM, but as the traditional partner Shiv Sena refused to support the government, insisting on the CM post, he had to step down three days later. When breakaway fractions of the Sena and the NCP came to join hands with the BJP, forming the Mahayuti government, it was Shinde of the Sena who became the CM.

After the Mahayuti’s convincing victory (230 seats out of 288) in last month’s elections, the BJP was expected to have an upper hand in the government formation, but Shinde seemed to have insisted on retaining his old position.

No cabinet ministers were sworn in, indicating that the parleys over government formation are far from over.

“I bow before Maharashtra. With Maharashtra's blessings, sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the esteemed presence of Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji at Azad Maidan, Mumbai,” Fadnavis said in an X post later.